


Hail Mary

by VictoriaEllis



Series: We Never Close [2]
Category: CSI: Miami
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Slow Build, Speed is alive
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-05
Updated: 2018-07-11
Packaged: 2019-05-18 14:50:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 16,679
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14854839
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VictoriaEllis/pseuds/VictoriaEllis
Summary: A young woman is found murdered in her apartment and a young man's life is threatened. While the team works to close their cases, Ryan and Speed have to learn to work together, Horatio is faced with a difficult decision. Also Stetler.





	1. Part I

_She was on her way home, her jacket wrapped tightly around her. Deep in thought, she pulled a small photograph out of her pocket and looked at it for a while. A smile formed on her lips. One couldn't see much, but the outlines of a new life were clearly recognizable._  
When she reached her apartment and opened the door, she was slightly surprised to see it unlocked. Confused and slightly worried she entered her home and knew instantly something was amiss. Carefully she made her way into the apartment and went towards the living room, but when she came around the corner her eyes widened in fear at the sight of another person in her home.  
"You?" was all she managed to say, before a gun was pointed directly at her.

_Coming home from partying, Jim Dason was alarmed to find the door of his neighbor Shannon Wilson ajar.  
"Hello?" he called out, before he slowly entered the apartment. "Shannon, are you home? Your door was open and I just…" He never finished the sentence for he saw blood on the carpet. Nearly freaking out, he headed deeper into the apartment, searching for Shannon only to find her in the living room. And what he saw was something he had never imagined seeing. There, on the wall, hung Shannon, hold in place by nails that stuck out of her arms. For a moment, Jim stared at her for in shock, before a scream was forced out of his throat._

Horatio stepped into the apartment and took off his sunglasses. Looking around he found Eric working in the small vestibule, while Calleigh and Alexx were in the living room. From what he saw it was clear that there had been a struggle in the vestibule, so he looked at Eric expectantly.  
"Is there anything you can already tell me?"

When the CSI squad had arrived at the scene, everything had looked like Shannon had just come home when she had been attacked. Eric had found her keys on the floor beside a red coat. The hallstand had been knocked down and droplets of blood had been spilled all over the carpet.

Eric looked up from a bloody footprint he had just secured and nodded at Horatio. "As you can see it is quite obvious that a struggle occurred here. As far as I can tell the victim tried to leave the apartment, based on the patterns of the blood droplets. I found bloody footprints going from the living room out of the apartment, probably from the culprit. But I can't tell you much about them right now. I also got the victim's ID and driver's license from the coat. It's definitely Shannon Wilson. A neighbor of her called the police after he found her like this. He also confirmed that she lived here alone. The door was ajar, but no signs of a forced entry. So, she knew her murderer and let him in or the culprit had a key."

Horatio nodded in appreciation and went on towards the living room, which had become the scene of a bloody drama. The whole room was a mess, blood seemed to be everywhere even though it was concentrated on a puddle in the carpet near the door towards the vestibule and the wall. It was doused with an almost five feet tall blood trail.

Alexx was already there examining the body, while Calleigh worked around in the room. Right now the blond CSI was looking at a ladder which was covered in blood like everything else. Walking over to her, he took a careful look at the object in front of him.  
"What have you got here?"  
"The ladder was found near the wall the victim was pinned on." Calleigh informed him. "You see that?" she asked, pointing at the blood strains. "It appears the ladder was used to hold her against the wall, while whoever did this nailed her onto it. By the amount of blood you find here she was either already dead or close to dying."  
Standing up, she looked at Horatio, a grim look on her face. "She had also been undressed by her murderer. The clothes were piled up on a sideboard at the door."

As Calleigh continued to process her part of the crime scene, the red-haired man turned his attention towards Alexx who was slowly rolling the naked young woman over to her right side to examine the wound on her back, caused by a through and through shot.  
"Bullet ran through her upper torso and penetrated her lungs," she explained calmly without looking up. "But that's not all I found."  
She grabbed the victim's left arm and showed it to Horatio. A large spike was driven into her forearm and stuck between ulna and radius.  
"The same with her right arm." she said. "Someone did like tormenting her while she probably drowned in her own blood." Alexx rolled the woman's dead body on her back again. "No signs for a sexual assault yet. But I can give you further detail on this after the autopsy."  
She shook her wrist so her watch came out of the blazer jacket's sleeve and she started to measure Shannon's body temperature. "Time of death approximately between 5 and 6 a.m."

Horatio stood there motionlessly while he listened to Alexx's explanations. His gaze glided over the outlines of Shannon's face, followed the blood spatter and up the wall with its unintentional red paint on it.  
"So, the culprit shot her when she entered the room", he muttered thoughtfully. "Then he undressed her before he dragged her over to the wall and nailed her onto it. Then the culprit left, leaving her behind like this. How come, none of her neighbors heard a shot?"  
He moved over to Calleigh who now examined the bloody wall. The cone of light from her flashlight pointed at a thin but deep hole where one of the nails had been driven into the bricks.  
He shifted his gaze to his right and found another similar hole almost five feet off.  
"She was nailed to the wall, but why?" he whispered to himself before he turned his attention back on Alexx who had just moved the body into a body bag and closed it with a whir. Letting two of her aides remove the corpse from the crime scene, she looked back at Horatio with a faint smile on her face.  
"I'll keep you posted." she told him, as she grabbed her kit and walked off.  
"Horatio!" Calleigh called, holding up a framed picture. "Look at this, here's Shannon with a young man, maybe her boyfriend."  
"Whoever he is," Horatio said, as he looked past her shoulder and studied the outlines of the man's face. "I'd like to talk to him."

\---

Ryan Wolfe was at the lab, catching up on some overdued paperwork and checking on some cases, when he got the call. Needed at a potential crime scene, he was instructed to meet his partner at the address of one Keith Sanders down in South-central Miami. There where no information about what he had to expect and it kind of surprised him that he was going to have help on this. He knew Calleigh and Eric were put on a new case that morning and he didn't think they would be able to help him out in this anytime soon.  
But who knew, maybe Horatio still send one of them...  
Gathering his things, he left the lab and headed towards the given address.

Keith Sanders - a 29-year-old fellow dressed in the blue jumpsuit of an automobile mechanic - was sitting in front of his house waiting for the CSI to arrive. The man seemed scared out of his mind, for he was visibly shaking, his arms wrapped tightly around himself. Even though his black hair fell into his eyes and wouldn't let Ryan see his face clearly, it was obviously that the man was highly distressed by something.  
Climbing out of his car, Ryan headed towards him.  
"Mr. Sanders?" he asked carefully and the other man flinched slightly before he looked up and relaxed a bit. "You're from CSI?" he asked Ryan, his voice shaken.  
Ryan nodded, confused about what was going on. He had got no information about this case and was about to ask what he had been called for, when Keith stood up and walked into the house mentioning the young CSI to follow him. Ryan entered the house and followed Keith into the living room somewhat not prepared for what he saw. He stopped dead in his tracks and held his breath for a second. Now he began to understand what had gotten the man so shaken up. Right before him was a message written on the wall.  
Written with blood.  
_YOU'RE NEXT_

\---

Unable to sleep, Tim Speedle had left his apartment in the early morning and showered in the bright colors of the new day dawning. The breeze caressing his face and arms carried the salty taste of the sea and told him once more that he was home again.

He was right on schedule when he got to the laboratory and entered the personnel division. The young woman behind the desk – which he had never seen before or at least could not remember if she had been working at the lab eleven months ago – gave him a new employee pass.  
"Welcome back," she said, stretching out to reach for a slim file, before she flipped it over the smooth desk top toward him. "Lieutenant Caine wanted you to have this."  
Frowning at her words, Speed reached for the file and skimmed through the information inside. Most of it seemed like legal formalities of a standard procedure, so he simply nodded. "Thank you."  
She smiled broadly back at him, showing off her white teeth.  
"No problem, "she said indifferently, playing with a golden bracelet on her right arm. "I assume, I don't need to remind you where you will find your kit and equipment?"  
"Latex gloves can be found where they used to be," Speed responded a little reluctant. Of course he knew where his equipment was.

Turning around slowly, he bit her goodbye and set off from the personnel division toward the elevator and down to the locker room. Waiting for the elevator to get him to the right level, he flipped the file open and took a closer look inside.  
A smile spread across the lines of his face when he found a post-it-note on the inside of the folder with Horatio's handwriting on it.

_Glad to have you back - Take care_

Happy that H had forgiven him his stupid mistake twice, Speed stepped into the elevator and browsed the folder in his hand. By surprise he found another note with an address and the order to meet his partner there as soon as possible.  
_I hope this not one of the_ go-easy-on- _cases. I'm up to the challenge!_ he thought in annoyance. But still, whether or not he wanted to come straight back to business, he felt a slight flutter in his stomach.

Walking toward his own locker, his footsteps echoed spectrally from the walls of the locker room and with every step, old memories emerged from the dark corners of his mind. This was where he truly belonged. He'd known that all those years ago when he was first hired by Horatio and he knew it now. But how would Calleigh, Eric and Alexx respond to his sudden recurrence? And would he do as fine as he hoped he would?  
Sighing deeply, he finally made it over to his locker and got his things. Everything was still in a good shape – now he needed to prove if he himself was too.  
_C'mon, Speed,_ he told himself, _there's no time to waste... back to work._  
Thus he grabbed his kit, checked his gun and plugged new latex gloves into his pocket before starting off anew.

\---

Keith nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard the doorbell ring. "That should be my colleague." Ryan assured him while he took pictures of the writing.  
"Oh... I...I think that's fine then." Keith said before he carefully opened the door.  
A tall, thin man with black or dark brown hair and a freshly shaved face blinked at Keith when opened the door with his skin completely pale.  
"Mr. Sanders?" the man asked and stretched out his hand to introduce himself, "Timothy Speedle, CSI."  
Keith shook his hand, looked around and closed the door behind him. "A pleasure to meet you."  
"Me too..." the other man said, irritated by Keith's shaking appearance.

Ryan halted for a second and looked up to find no other then Timothy Speedle standing next to Keith Sanders.  
_Just great..._  
He had seen Speedle's face on several pictures, so it was not really difficult to tell it was him and now he had to work with him. Normally that wouldn't have been a problem, but in his opinion it was not really pleasurable to work with someone who's reappearance could get you fired. Slightly shaking his head Ryan decided to get back to work. It wouldn't help him any if he just stood here and starred at Speedle.

\---

Speed heard the familiar _snap_ of the camera in the hall and knew his partner had started the job already.  
When Speed entered he mustered the young man from head to foot – the dark hair, the pale taint – and recalled a description Eric had given him many weeks ago.  
"Hello", he said aloud to get Wolfe's attention, but all he could get from his counterpart was a indifferent nod in his direction and a murmured "Hello." in return. Speed frowned as he caught the defiant attitude of Wolfe - and he would not let the younger man get away with it.  
Once more Speed stretched out his hand to greet Wolfe as politely as possible.  
"Tim Speedle," he said, "You're Ryan Wolfe, are you not?"  
Ryan shook his hand and nodded. "Yes, that would be me."  
Then Wolfe hastened to return to his work and began taking pictures again.

Speed stepped beside him and tried to get an impression of the bloody image. "This sure is alarming," he said and nestled on his camera, but the lenses seem to slip through his fingers.  
Now that he needed to concentrate on his job, he felt uneasy again. Being a CSI meant having a finger on Miami's criminal pulse and he had lost his touch almost completely. Now it was hard work to adjust again and Wolfe's professionalism didn't do much to make him feel any better.

Ryan put the camera aside, pulled out the swabs and took samples from the blood, throwing side glances at Speed.  
"Need help?" he asked carefully. He didn't want to sound like he felt he knew this job better then Speedle did – he certainly did not – but he had come to the conclusion that it must be hard to get back on the job after such a long period. The young man just hoped that Speedle might understand this.

Speed stared at him and had some difficulties to hide his annoyance. Knowing he need to adjust was one thing, but making his inability so obvious with a simple question was totally different...  
"No!" he said tartly, trying to handle the camera properly, "Everything's... fine!"  
Ryan raised an eyebrow at him and shrugged. "Okay..." he said slowly and went back to work.  
Giving an unnerved sigh, Speed went over to the desk, where Sanders had laid out some of the letters he'd received properly. He photographed them, then looked up at the young man, who'd retreated into one corner of the room.  
"Mr. Sanders! Since when exactly do you receive these letters?"

Keith flinched again as he was addressed and looked at him shyly. Then he thought about the question for a few seconds before answering.  
"It started about... a week and a half ago... I think."  
Speed made a mental note on his comment and finished taking photos.  
"So, that makes it 10 to 11 days since you received the first letter? I see at least eight of them, so why did you wait so long before you called 911?"  
"I thought it was not important, honestly. See, the letters weren't that threatening... I just thought someone was making fun of me or something, but this on the other hand..." Keith said gesturing at the writing on his wall. His breath was still fast and erratic. "I just don't understand this. Whoever would do something like this... that's sick..."  
"Don't worry, we're here to figure that out, because _I'd_ consider these letters in addiction to that painting on your wall as really threatening. The person who did this will continue until he or she is fully satisfied, even when it takes a murder to do so. Maybe we can prevent that sort of crime. And you really have no idea who could do something like that? Anyone who could look at you as his or her enemy of some kind?"  
Keith shook is head and let out a tired sigh. "No sorry, I have no idea… I never had problems with anyone… mostly at least… and if I had it was so trivial, that I can't even think of something like this to happen."

Speed nodded, put on a pair of gloves and took out the brush to search the letters for fingerprints, before he stored them in a paper bag.  
But then, suddenly and without any intention, the bag slipped through his fingers and the sheets fluttered out of the bag like tinsel on an Independence Day parade. "Damnit", he muttered silently to himself.

Wolfe watched the letters fluttering to the ground and sighed softly. Since he didn't want to annoy Speedle any further especially after his little question he thought about just ignoring what had just happened, but in the end he still kneeled down and started to help picking the letters up and handed them to Speedle.  
Speed snatched the letters from Wolfe and stored them once again, correctly this time.  
Then Ryan and Speed turned their attention towards the rest of the house. There were no evidence of a forced entry, so they had no idea how whoever wrote the message got into the house.  
"Well, Mr. Sanders, looks like there's nothing more we can do right now. Here's my card. Call when anything happens, especially when it appears threatening to you, right?" Speed said, drawing a little card from his trouser pocket.  
Keith nodded understanding. "Of course. I will do that..."  
Speed nodded in appreciation, then stepped through the front door and rejoined with Wolfe again who stood there motionlessly and waited in silence. Speed couldn't help it, but he was not to delighted with Wolfe's presence for it made him feel like a fool who didn't know how to do his job.  
As they reached the sidewalk and the door of Sanders' house closed behind them, Speed stopped and sighed deeply again.  
"Well... that was odd..." Wolfe muttered more to himself than to his partner.  
"You can say that", Speed agreed.

They continued they way towards their cars and put their kit away. Ryan turned towards Speedle watching him for a short moment, before he addressed him.  
"I will head back to the lab. See you there." he told him briefly, before he climbed into his car and took of. While he made his way over to the lab he let his thoughts wander. Ryan had absolutely no idea how he should behave around Speedle. Sure, he didn't really have any bad opinions about him and he shouldn't have, since he did not know him. But the younger CSI still couldn't help himself feeling a little bitter towards the other man. Everyone had compared him to Speedle since day one and now Stetler was after him, because Speedle was back and Ryan was not sure what Horatio would do. Of course he didn't want to believe that Horatio would agree with Stetler and get him fired, but then again he got Speedle back and there was no need to have a rookie in the team anymore. Ryan really hated to think about Horatio like that. He respected the older man and knew he cared about people, but still he couldn't help but wonder. After all… Horatio still called him Wolfe…


	2. Part II

Calleigh, Eric, Alexx and Horatio where standing in one of the hallways talking about their case, when the elevator doors slid open and revealed one Timothy Speedle. Calleigh couldn't believe her eyes when she saw him walking out and heading straight towards them. They all starred at Speed as if they couldn't believe they really saw him and for a moment he seemed nervous about this, before he merrily grinned at them.

At first Calleigh did not know what she should do, but then she let out a happy squeal and hugged him tightly.  
"Speed! Why didn't you tell us you'd be back today? Oh my, I'm so glad to see you save and sound!" exclaimed the blonde woman happily, never once loosening her grip.  
Speed was totally astonished and caught off guard by Calleigh's sudden embrace, but he smiled shyly down at her and patted her shoulder softly.  
"This was meant to be a surprise", he explained and finally hugged her back, before letting go again, "And I'm glad to be back, too."  
Calleigh still didn't seem to want to let go as Eric stepped beside them and shook hands with Speed before he gave him a pad on the back, which was returned enthusiastically.  
"That surprise was clearly successful" he said smiling broadly, while Calleigh laughed happily and nodded in agreement.  
"Yes it was." then suddenly her expression became serious again, as she let go of Speed, took a step back and mustered him with a stern glance. "And don't you do something stupid like that again, ever!"  
Speed blushed slightly and looked at the floor in embarrassment before he nodded.  
"I… I promise…" he said with a small voice, obviously feeling guilty. "But I think, all of you will take care I keep that promise this time, don't you?"  
Watching his friends with a sheepish look on his face, he regarded the seriousness on their faces as they nodded their heads.  
"That you can be sure of"

Alexx stood still motionless beside Horatio watching the scene that displayed itself in front of them, fighting back the tears that threatened overcome her since the moment she saw Speed walking out of the elevator Everything seemed so unreal to her. She hadn't dared to think about the day her Timmy-boy would finally be reunited with them. She had imagined it, how it might feel like to have him back, but the happiness in her heart was far more intense than she thought it would ever be.

Noticing the smile that had set itself firmly on Horatio's lips and his lack of surprise, she got suspicious.  
"You knew he'd come back today, didn't you?" Alexx asked with a shaking voice full of suppressed emotions.  
"I did" he told her smirking slightly and nodding.  
"That was nasty", the woman accused Horatio, but he knew that she didn't mean it the way it sounded.  
Turning back to Speed Alexx walked over to him as well and hugged him just as tightly as Calleigh had a few moments ago.  
"Welcome back, Timmy" she whispered to him and a new wave of relieve washed over her, as he smiled at her.

It was Horatio who finally pulled them out of their peaceful moment.  
"As much as I hate to interrupt you. We still have work to do."  
Speed looked at him and nodded in agreement.  
"Yes, that's probably true. I didn't mean to keep you from work. By the way…", he stopped for a moment and walked towards him, stretching out one hand to greet him properly. "Thank you."  
Horatio shook his hand, before he pulled the younger man into a hug. When he released him he grinned at the others. "Now then, back to work, everyone."

\-----

Ryan had directly started with processing the evidence he collected, when he got back to the lab. From where he stood he had been able to watch the scene when Speedle had walked out of the elevator and the others had spotted him. It was then when he made himself realize, that he would probably never really fit into their little family of friends. Even though it was quite obvious now, that he was not here to take Speedles place, he himself couldn't be sure how much longer he would be in the office. Especially after that conversation he had with Stetler. And even if he stayed he doubted that anything would change at all. Sighing softly Ryan tried to forget about all his insecurities and to just do his job praying that everything would sort itself out in the end.  
Deciding to develop the pictures he had taken at the crime scene he quickly left the room, before Speedle would come in. He silently berated himself for avoiding his coworker, but he couldn't help feeling misplaced when working with Timothy Speedle and besides that their first encounter at the crime scene had not been to welcoming. Even tough he had to admit that this had partly been his fault.

\---

Being told to get back to their cases Calleigh and Alexx contently patted Speeds shoulder once more, smiling happily, before they made their way to the autopsy theater. Eric looked at his friend once more, relieved to have his friend back at work.  
"You know, it's good to have you back" he said after a slight pause and grinned at the other CSI as he walked past him and grabbed the back containing evidence he had to run past Valera.  
Out of the corner of his eyes Eric noticed Ryan who had watched the welcoming ceremony of Speed silently. There was a look on his face the Cuban was unable to read and that certainly didn't stop the confusing from surfacing as he watched the hazel eyes narrow in what could have been annoyance before Ryan hurried of with a film spool in one hand. Not understanding this reaction, but realizing that it wouldn't do him any good if he stayed and wondered about this he continued his way towards the DNA-Lab. He would have enough time to think about Ryan Wolfe's strange behavior later on.

\---

Once he entered the DNA-Lab and briefly told Valera what he'd got the talked about the latest on-goings inside the lab for a while. It was when Eric leaned on the edge of the table and looked over Valera's shoulder, while she tested some of the blood they had found in Miss Wilson's apartment that none other than Ryan walked into the room. Straightening up and casting a quick glance at the younger CSI, he decided to remain silent for the moment even though he wanted nothing more than to ask a few questions concerning his reactions over Speed's arrival.

It was then that Valera looked up from her microscope, slightly smiling at Ryan.  
"Ryan? How may I help you?"  
Returning the smile he shot a quick glance at Eric, before returning his full attention back towards Valera.  
"Have you had the time to take a look at the blood samples I gave you?" he asked, a questioning look on his face. Eric couldn't help himself to think of a small puppy and how Alexx would probably love to see this. And really he shouldn't think like that, especially since the two of them were not at best terms and Ryan was still too insecure to forget about the treatment they had given him, even though Eric had to admit that he kind of liked working with the other man by now.  
Smiling in apology Valera shook her head slightly.  
"I'm sorry, but I need to finish this one first." She nodded towards her microscope, "but as soon as I'm finished I will get started on your samples, okay?"  
"Right, call me when you're finished, yes?"  
As soon as Valera had agreed Ryan left, heading back to wherever he was before. Blinking a few times Eric silently asked himself if the other had always seemed so nervous around them. Shaking his head in confusion he looked back at Valera, hoping he would get his results soon. He had spend entirely to much time thinking about Ryan's strange behavior already.

\---

Back in the layout room, Speed had taken out the letter's he'd confiscated at Sanders house. After he lay them down orderly and started to arrange them until he was fully satisfied he began looking at them more closely. Maybe there was some sort of a pattern or secret code hidden that waited to be found.  
Sighing deeply, he swayed the letters around, but they remained to be a accumulation of paper shavings of cut-out letters. All of them where vague and so he just couldn't pin-point the reason why someone like Sanders would be threatened at all.  
"Okay, looks like I need to check them for fingerprints." he muttered to himself and started to get them ready for it. While doing the standard procedure he let his mind drift a little, thinking about his coworkers reactions. He was very relieved that everyone's anger and sadness at his stupidity had vanished. In fact, it felt like a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders. Even though Speed would never admit it aloud he'd feared the moment of reunion since he'd left to the rehabilitation in North Dakota. But it was over and all that left was a feeling of unspoken pleasure, which left him smiling.

The only thing that left a somewhat bitter taste was Ryan Wolfe. Their first encounter hadn't been all too exhilarating and Speed began to understand why Eric didn't know what to think of the guy. Sure, he was highly professional, ambitious and in love with his job just like every CSI. But there was something about him Eric hadn't figured out in the last 10 months since Speeds departure and obviously he himself wasn't going to do any better.

Looking up his smile slowly faded away, as he watched Ryan Wolfe enter the room, carrying a folder with photographs. Deciding to keep it all on a professional basis he fixed his gaze back on the letters and fingerprints he was about to extract.  
"Anything new?"  
Obviously Wolfe seemed to share his thoughts as he started to arrange the pictures to his likening.  
"No, not really. Valera still has to process the DNA-samples and I don't think the photographs of the crime scene will get us any further information about who did this and why. Found anything on the letters yet?"  
"A few fingerprints, but I fear they are Sanders'. He probably had not thought about wearing gloves while reading this. I have to admit that I think there is only a very small chance that the suspect was stupid enough to leave fingerprints if he or she was able to get into his house without leaving any obvious evidence. But I still fount some remarkable residue of dried liquid. Might be water or something. I'm not sure if that will help us, but who knows." Looking up Speed watched Wolfe silently for a moment as the younger man rearranged the letters and photos on the table. "I will try to find out of which ingredients the paper was made so we may get a clue that helps us. And I will also check out what kind of water dropped onto the sheets – calcification and that stuff. But first I will see if we may be lucky and some of this prints aren't Sanders'."  
Nodding in agreement the brown-haired CSI looked up. "That would be great. I really hope we find whoever did this fast. We don't know what he's going to do after all."  
"Yeah", the older commented dryly, "Some people in this hell of town are just as crazy as loons"

Frowning slightly he waited silently for the other to say something to this, but he realized quickly that he had sunken into his thoughts.  
"You wanna go with the chemical analyzes or shall I do that?" Speed finally asked as friendly as possible. Sure, he was annoyed about his own stupidity, but he tried not to be prejudicial on Ryan – Eric had some points when he described him, but he knew his best friend was good at overreacting sometimes.  
"Ah… you can do that." came the distracted reply, "I will see if we get anything out of this pictures. Maybe we missed something. I mean we still don't know how the person got into Sanders house, do we?"  
"That's right" Speed had to agree, after a short silence adding: "Besides, I heard you're good at this stuff. Deciphering patterns and codes, I mean."  
Blinking in slight confusion it was obvious to everyone who cared to look closely enough that Wolfe tried hard not to blush at his statement and to Speed that made clear the younger man was not used to being complimented for his skills.  
"Well… thanks, I guess"  
The reply even sounded insecure to him and so he couldn't fight the smile that spread over his face.  
"Well, don't thank me, for I've just heard it was like this" he said, not caring that he now really got Wolfe to blush a bright red, while grabbing one of the letters and cutting of a small piece of if for further examination.  
"So then… who should I thank for this?" Wolfe asked, eyebrow raised.  
Looking at him with a straight face he mustered him closely before he finally answered in a completely neutral tone.  
"Is that somehow important?"  
Okay, maybe it was not nice not to tell him, but why should be make it easy on him. After all Speed didn't even know him more than a few hours and they definitely weren't overly friendly.  
"Maybe it is to me"  
Now that was a surprise indeed. Not only that the other had nearly whispered this sentence he really looked sincere.  
"Well, you may guess." Taking the piece of paper Speed slowly headed for the door. "But I'll give you a hint. It was neither Calleigh, nor Horatio"  
This left the other CSI with only two options: Alexx or Eric. Speed was sure that he would never guess correct on this, but it was still fun to see the wheels turning as Wolfe tried to figure out who could have said something like this about him. But as the silence stretched a little longer Speed had to wonder how the other man stood with the team if he couldn't even a decision like that as easily as one should after nearly being on the team for a year.  
"Alexx?" came finally the hesitant reply.  
Speed turned to face him once more and raised and eyebrow. It was obvious that that guy sure had no clue, but that gave his character a clumsy and somehow innocent note – and it made him feel better with his own stupidity that had bothered him this morning. So he smirked slightly, titling his head to one side.  
"You sure?"  
"How could I?" came the indifferent reply, which made his grin freeze on his face. Even though he had just wanted to torment the other a little longer this came unexpected. Not knowing what to say Speed finally left the room to get some more work done and leave Wolfe in peace with his thoughts. All the while being more than aware that he himself had never expected Eric being the one to praise Wolfe.

\----

Ryan sighed slightly as he watched Speedle leave the room and walk down the hallway. He was no wiser then before and no matter how he looked at it he couldn't pinpoint who would have said it. As far as he knew Eric never held the highest opinions for him, even though he could be kind of nice sometimes. Still he doubted that he was the one to tell Speedle something like that. And Alexx… Well he thought she didn't have too much contact with Speed since he had been in rehabilitation, because she couldn't visit him herself, but that didn't have to mean anything. Not to mention that she sure as hell would not tell Ryan of all people if she had been talking to Speed, but still it had seemed more like a possibility then Eric. But Speeds question had him doubt that again.

Returning to the photographs he decided that it probably wouldn't matter anyway and that he should concentrate on work. Because whoever said this would not be able to get his mind of the hole fiasco that had started with Stetler. Even though he more or less told him, that he would give him a chance Ryan somehow couldn't give much for his word.

\----

On a remote street, Suzie Barnham kept to the right and stopped the car on the breakdown lane. Her daughter Madison sat on the backseat and looked out of the window, just as calm as ever. All in all it could have been just an ordinary day, but Suzie knew it wasn't. Sighing deeply she grabbed her cell phone from the glove box hesitating for a moment. Her eyes rested on the pile of blank forms on the passenger's front-seat and she couldn't help but ask herself if this was the right thing to do. The blond woman knew it was even though a small part of herself was still denying the truth, but it was useless to hide from it any longer. It wouldn't help her and it certainly would not be any good for Madison and if there was one thing that she wanted more than anything it was for her daughter to be happy. And in order for her to be happy this was a step she had to do. Taking a deep breath she finally opened the phone and searched the phone book for Horatio's number.  
Giving herself no time for further hesitation she quickly pushed the dial-button, her heart thundering in her chest. Suzie had never been this nervous when calling Horatio. Not even when she had been in trouble and needed his help. But this time it was something completely different.  
Hearing the phone dial Horatio's number, followed by the call connected signal she waited patiently for him to answer, but nothing happened which confused her a little.  
Usually, Horatio picked up his phone so quickly that it caught her by surprise.  
Finally, there was a slight crack in the connection, then the mechanic voice of the mailbox.  
Turning her head and smiling softly at Madison, who seemed so peaceful and calm as if she was far away in her own perfect world, he listened to the voice before it finally trailed off. Waiting for the beep so she could get my message on record, she played with a strand of her blonde hair trying to calm her nerves.  
"Hi Horatio. This... this is Suzie. I know you're busy and that we said we would meet next Friday. But... we need to talk, so I have to see you as soon as possible. I'll be waiting downtown at a café called _Esperanza_." She turned her attention towards a small card and read out the address. "I have Madison with me. She'll be glad to see you. I will hopefully see you later. Thanks, Horatio."  
With that, she closed the cell phone and stuffed it back into the glove box before she sighed deeply again. Starting the car again she took of to the café she mentioned to Horatio.

\---

Marianne Wilson made the sign of cross twice when Horatio opened the file and stretched out his hand to show her the picture of a cambered figure that had once been her daughter.  
Her slim body over and over covered with blood.  
"May she rest in peace," she muttered to herself and folded her hands for a prayer. "Our Father, which art in heaven. Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, in earth as it is in heaven."  
Horatio sat down on the opposite side of the table and looked at Shannon's mother in surprise when he heard her prayer. "Mrs. Wilson..." he began slowly as her voice faded into silence.  
"Miss," she corrected him immediately, her eyes still closed and her hands folded before her chest.  
"Miss Wilson, I'm really sorry that this happened to your daughter. And I know it's hard for you, but I have to ask you a few questions about her. Do you have any idea who would do something like that to your daughter? Did she have any problems?"  
Muttering some more words to the Lord, she didn't notice the lieutenant had dropped a question at first. But then she blinked at him and fixed her dazzled gaze on Horatio.

He really did not know what to think of this woman. Since the moment she came into the interrogation room, she was calm and collected and had not shed a single tear over the loss of her daughter. It was kind of strange, but he would not judge her over this.  
"There would be just one, who would punish her sins," she said slowly and made the sign of the cross again. "But his punishment shall be her redemption as well."  
He was tempted to roll his eyes, but succeeded not to do so. "What do you mean with that?"  
She stopped her praying suddenly and gave him an inquiring look as if he had offended her in some way.  
"Lieutenant Caine, are you a religious man?" she asked flatly in return.  
Slowly blinking in surprise Horatio decided not to answer that question, but it seemed that he did not have to, since Miss Wilson already kept on talking.  
"The only one to punish her would be god, lieutenant. That should be fairly obvious. No-one else would ever have the wisdom to judge."  
Smiling slightly and nodding his head once Horatio decided to himself, that Marianne Wilson was one of the strangest persons he had met in a long time. He really did not know what to make of her, but even if she had an religious fetish it was no reason to pass judgment on her. Shooting her a calculating look he realized that he wouldn't get any straight answers from her and so he stood, ready to end this conversation.  
"Thank you, Miss Wilson. I will inform you as soon as we know what happened to your daughter" he told her, before he walked her towards the elevator and watched her leave. It was one of those few times he was glad someone had left the lab.  
Shaking his head and still not knowing what to make out of the conversation they just had, Horatio headed back towards his office, to collect his cell phone waiting with a message for him to hear.  
'  _Hi Horatio, this… this is Suzie…'_


	3. Part III

Walking down the hallway Speed let his thoughts return to Eric and his opinion about Wolfe. Eric had quite often told him that he couldn't stand the sight of the other CSI. But still, Speed slowly got the feeling Eric had met Ryan just in the wrong moment. Otherwise, he wouldn't be making a lot of unusual and positive comments on Ryan.

Remembering back all these years, Eric and he didn't start off well either. They both had been newbie's in this job and thought they could change the world. Needless to say that they quickly had to realize they could not, even though they never let that thought keeping them down. Smiling fondly Speed thought about how they had tried to excel each other in their job. How often had they had gotten into fights with each other? He could still remember how they had once shouted at each other because each of them thought he was holding the pipette correctly and the other didn't. In the end Horatio had to interfere in this matter. Dragging them both to a bar after work so that they could sort out everything had probably been one of the best things that man had done for them. After all they had turned out to be best friends.

  
As he entered Trace a new wave of melancholy overcame him.  
This was the place where he and Eric had first met; this was the place where they fought each other.  
And this was the place where they had become friends at last.  
But for now, Eric was nowhere in sight, so Speed stepped up to the workplace and took out the scrap of paper and a new iPod, he'd brought several months ago. Covering his ears with the headphones he turned on the music and got to work. It felt like the old days. Music had always helped him forget the world around him and fully concentrate on the task.

While he ran the scrap through a couple of tests and chemical reactions, Speed didn't notice how Eric entered the room, a folder with Valera's results from the DNA.  
His mouth moved, but the other man had gotten so washed away by the music that he did not hear it. Suddenly, he felt a tip on his shoulder that roused him from his thoughts instantly.  
"Hey! You're gettin' easily frightened or something?" Eric asked with a broad smile.  
Hanging the headphones around his neck, Speed stared at him with a straight face.  
"No!" was said calmly as he laid down the pipette "What's up?"  
Eric helped himself to a small stool that stood in a corner of the room and sat down.  
"Nothing. I'm just waiting for H to finish his interrogation with the mother of our latest victim." he said.  
"Ah, I see. So, you just need someone to entertain you, then?" Speed said tartly.  
Eric couldn't help to let out a small laughter. "We didn't have the time to talk when you came back this morning, so I wanted to check everything's OK," he explained.  
Leaning against the edge of the table, Speed's eyes still fixed on Eric's face as if looking for something.  
"No girlfriend this week you can worry about?"  
His only answer was a grin, that did give nothing away. He let a deep sight and gazed at his work. "I'm fine. Alright? I'm absolutely fine."  
Eric nodded slowly and narrowed his eyes to the various items on the table. "And you get on well with everything?"  
"Stop bothering, Eric, I know how to do my job"  
It really bothered him that everyone seemed to think he was too stupid to do anything by himself any longer.  
"It's just...", his words trailed off, "You've been off for almost 11 months. Besides Ryan..."  
"Oh, please", Speed remarked dryly, "Let go of that boy's ambition, will you? Besides, if you don't like him, why you're talking about him that much?"  
Eric frowned suddenly and gave me confused look. "Uhm..." he started, but he never finished the sentence. A smile appeared on Speeds lips that turned to a faint laughter. "You should see your face!" he finally managed to said half-laughing.  
Eric got up from the stool and stored it in the corner on the backside again. "Why's it always me you guys are teasing?" he asked in an innocent voice. "With you, it's the most tempting." was stated and the other man watched him coming to his side. Eric patted his back once more and Speed felt comfortable, as if he'd never been on this unfortunate convalescent leave.  
"Have plans after work?" he suddenly asked the Cuban. "Or may I borrow some time of yours for a drink?"  
Seeing the grin that formed itself on Eric's face he wondered what kind of remark the other thought about. "Missed me that much?" he asked, obviously pleased, "No, I don't have particular plans. Let's met in the entrance hall around 6 p.m.?"  
"Copied"  
Yes, Speed decided, it was good to be back.

  
\---

It was 15:30h and Suzie felt this stupid sensation in her stomach. She was afraid Horatio would not come, although he would never let her or Madison down. Still she couldn't help to worry.  
She'd picked the Esperanza because it was usually rather deserted at this time of the day. And still, she entered the Cuba-style veranda and sat down in the corner far off from the rest of the customers. After Suzie had send Madison to the nearby playground, always and eye on what she was doing and had ordered a cup of English tea she let her thoughts wander towards the conversation she was about to have. With every single second that passed by, her heart seemed to beat harder and faster against her ribs until it became almost painful. It was hard to maintain a calm front if only not to worry Madison. Her hands where trembling as she checked for the time once more.  
15:45h

  
Looking up again the blond woman was relieved as she finally spotted Horatio who went straight towards her, a concerned look on his face.  
"Hey," he greeted her softly and took her appearance in. Feeling even more nervous at his close observation she was glad when he finally sat down. "How are you"  
"Hi. I'm…" Suzie began, stopping mid sentence to think about it for a moment before she continued. "I'm fine."  
She knew that he didn't really believe her, but she couldn't just tell him everything right away. Seeing Madison running towards them, obviously delighted to see her uncle, the blond woman felt like a slight weight lifted off of her shoulders. No matter how quiet and reserved Madison could be sometimes Horatio had always been able to break through her mental barriers that separated her from the rest of the world. She really began to blossom whenever it was around. Suzie felt a light stitch in her heart knowing that she herself had never been able to archive that. Only Horatio – and Bob. But she wouldn't dare to compare them with one another.  
"And how are you?" she asked and tried to look calm and relaxed, but her voice was shaken and a shiver ran down her spine once more. All the while Horatio was watching her clearly concerned, even though he was smiling.  
"I'm fine" he told her, before turning his attention to Madison, greeting her and helping her climb into a chair between the two adults. Suzie couldn't help but think that he would be the perfect father for Madison. How often had she wanted to tell him that, but knowing Horatio he probably wouldn't believe her anyway.  
"Are you sure everything is alright?"

  
Horatio's question made her focus her attention back towards him. Gently pushing her hair back, she studied the lines of Horatio and Madison's face. When Suzie gave bith to Madison six years ago, she'd pretended she was Bob's daughter, but somehow, she knew that she had never been his girl. And now as her baby set beside her uncle, Suzie realized the senselessness of her deception. Madison seemed like a spitting image of him: The same red hair that shimmered like liquid gold in the sunlight and the same faithful blue eyes. It was funny that she actually looked more like Horatio than like his brother Raymond.  
"Well…" she started and shivered again, while his intensive and inquiring look pressed upon her. "There's no point in lying to you, so I'll get it out right away. In fact, there's no-one else I could talk to anyway… so…"  
Smiling nervously Suzie glimpsed at Madison who glanced at her just as questioningly as Horatio. She may be a child of only six years of age, but she still always seemed to know when something really important was about to be discussed. It didn't make it any easier for her mother to finally get the load of her chest. "I'm quite… desperate, you know."  
"What's wrong, Suzie? Do you have problems? Did something happen?" Horatio inquired frowning.

  
An impish smile tugged at her lips and sweat began to weten her forehead.  
"Well… yes. I am in trouble and yes, I need your help."  
She grabbed her bag and pulled out a small pile of forms and lay it down on the table. She pushed them over to Horatio, watching him closely to see every ounce of his reaction. The shock was clear on his face as he looked over the files and a confused look was send her way. He was clearly not understanding her need for this, but then he did not know everything yet, so this was quite alright.  
"Suzie, what is this… Listen, it's not that I would not want to take care of Madison, but she needs you to be with here, you are her mother and what the hell is going on here? I really don't understand the meaning of this. Could you please just tell me, what is wrong?"  
Kneading her hands and looking down on her fingers she was silent for a moment.  
"I know all that… but, you see… somehow, I've got the feeling that I will not be able to take care of Madison in the near future and I want to know she's with someone that cares about her." She sighed deeply before continuing. "It's not the kind of trouble you think I'm in again. I promise you, I'm clean and there is no-one to threat me… it's just… I'm ill… seriously ill, Horatio."  
"What do you mean, Suzie? What kind of illness?"  
Worry was written all over her face and she wanted nothing more than to break down and cry her eyes out, tell him everything that bothered her. Fighting back the tears so that Madison would not be worried she turned towards her daughter smiling at her.  
"Daring? Do me a favor and go playing again, okay?"  
Madison looked at her, obviously confused by her request, but she didn't argue. Climbing down her chair she ran off to play. Once Madison was out of range Suzie turned back to Horatio.  
"I'm sorry," she stuttered now unable to hold back her tears any longer. "I… I don't want Madison to know about this yes." She stopped again and appreciated Horatio's silence. "I'm diagnosed with… with cancer, final stage."  
"You… what?" There was a small pause before he continues. "Since when do you know this? Are you sure there is no way to help you? I mean there has to!"  
Suzie couldn't help, but smile at his outburst. It was good to know that at least someone cared, still she felt slightly guilty that she had to worry him. After all he had done for her over the years she had always wanted to do something for him too, and now she would probably never be able to.  
"There is nothing to do anymore, Horatio. I had a bad feeling for some time already when I finally consulted a doctor. He said there was not much left for them to do in order to help me. I could have a chemo, but the chances of heeling are nearly nonexistent. It would probably help me to life a little bit longer and I really thought about it. In the end I decided that I want to make as much out of the time I have left, spending it with my daughter instead of being in a hospital most of the time."  
A deep sadness filled her as she watched Madison for a moment as she played happily with the other kids on the playground. Wiping away the fresh tears that rolled down her cheeks she looked at the man in front of her pleadingly.  
"Please, you got to help. I couldn't stand the thought of me dying and never knowing that Madison will be in good care. I know you will be able to do this and she loves you. I don't want to bother you, but I don't know who else I could ask. I would never be able to forgive myself if she was send to an orphanage. And I dare not to think about Bob having custody for Madison. Please, Horatio, you're the only one I can trust with this."  
It was clear to anyone who cared to look that Horatio was quite uncomfortable about this. Sighing deeply he took Suzie's hands in his own.  
"I really have to think about this, okay? But I assure you that no matter what happened Madison will be taken good care of. She will be loved."  
"Thank you!" the blond woman sobbed. "Thank you, Horatio. That is more than I could ever ask for. She has no other relatives left and… it's just… she really loves you. I just want to make sure Madison will be fine after my… after my…" No matter how hard she tried she couldn't complete her sentence. It was like saying that she was about to die made it more real. She knew it was non the less. She felt herself being pulled into an embrace by Horatio and could finally let her tears flow freely for the first time since she knew of her illness.  
"You can call me whenever you need something, I hope you know that"  
Horatio's voice let a small smile appear on her face and she wiped her tears away.  
"Yes, I know that, but I'll be fine and hopefully Madison too."  
"It's okay to call, Suzie. And Madison will be fine." Horatio assured her and suddenly she felt a bit better.  
"If she is with you, she'll definitely be fine" she whispered softly, knowing that the man had fully understood. His gaze wandered to Madison and a small smile spread over his face.  
"For her and for you, I will do everything I can, you know that Suzie."

  
\---

"What you got for me?" Eric said when he entered the room and looked expectantly at Calleigh who stood aside the printer. Her fair hair was tied up in a most ornate and ingenious way and only one thick strand clung smoothly to her right shoulder when she turned around and smiled at him.  
"Good news!"  
She held up a printout of her results. "Alexx and I took the spikes out of Shannon Wilson's body. Although they're used with nail guns, these two where driven into her arms with a hammer."  
Slowly she pulled out an enlarged and detailed picture of the nail heads. "Nail guns only leave one small hole where the pin hits the head, but here we have multiple points of impact," she explained in a calm voice and settled down onto a stool.  
"Well… I fail to see how that's good news" Eric through in which earned him a slightly annoyed glare from Calleigh.  
"If you would listened until I have told you everything you might understand."  
Nodding Eric arched an eyebrow at her mentioning her to continue, getting another mock glare in return.  
"The through and through shot that killed her came from a Glock 45. I ran it through the system and found thirteen records with thirteen different IDs registered to this type of gun in the area near our crime scene."  
"Well, that are quite a few," Eric said and knit his eyebrows.  
Calleigh smiled knowingly.  
"That's true, but I think, we can dismiss at least twelve of them."  
"And why is that?" Eric asked in confusion.  
She lead him over to a computer and opened the files from the database she had marked. "This is a scan of Shannon Wilson's birth certificate we got from her mother."  
She pointed at the line where the names of the parents should have been noted down, but the father's name was missing. Not even the standard "unknown" was anywhere to be seen.  
"Seems like this one has been tempered with," Eric commented.  
"Yes!" Calleigh agreed. "It had been treated with bleach to erase the father's name."  
"But who did it? The mother? And why would she do something like that?"  
"Most likely. And I really don't know why she would do that. Anyway, I worked on it all afternoon after I came from the ballistic research and this is what I got out of it," Calleigh explained and Eric bended down and stared at the new scan she opened with a few mouse clicks. He frowned and tried to decipher the old typewriter letters on the certificate.  
"Marcus Van Helden," he read out slowly. "So, that's her father's name."  
He paused and watched the screen intently, before he turned his eyes on Calleigh again.  
"So, what's your point?"

  
She opened her mouth to answer him, but the slight clink from the door handle interrupted their discussion. "Hey, Alexx. Finished the autopsy?" Calleigh asked smiling even broader.  
"You can say that. Had to open Shannon again for my little darling here," the medical examiner said ironically and tapped Eric's shoulder with a slim folder that she had carried under her arm. "There you go!"  
He took the folder from Alexx and a satisfied smile began to spread across his face. "Thanks, Alexx. That result is bright as daylight."  
Now it was Calleigh's turn to frown at Eric in confusion.  
"What's going on?"  
"You know, I brought the blood samples from the crime scene to the DNA and assisted Valera. We found a uncommon high amount of estrogen and several other hormones in her blood stream. But I needed to make sure Shannon wasn't on the pill," Eric said.  
"Alexx found some sort of... fluid all over Shannon's legs. So I asked her to take a closer look at Shannon's womb."  
"So, you think, she's pregnant?" Calleigh asked an grabbed the folder from Eric's hands.  
"Yes, she _was_ ," Alexx agreed. "The liquid on her legs proofed to be part of the placenta."  
A shocking silence spread across the room while Calleigh studied the file, her eyes wide open. Alexx was first to break the silence.  
"If you don't mind, I'll be at morgue and try to get over and done with some paperwork." Eric and Calleigh nodded and the clicking sound of Alexx' heels on the floor filled the room as she headed to the door and left.  
"I'm wondering," Calleigh said slowly. "If the culprit knew she was pregnant. Maybe he wanted to end her pregnancy. That would be a motive."  
"Yeah, that's why we need to find that boyfriend or whoever he is," Eric agreed. "But we don't even have a name."  
As if he had just reminded her of something, Calleigh dropped the folder onto the desk and grinned at him.  
"Maybe we don't need the boyfriend's name... yet," she said and nodded towards the screen and the two of them dedicated themselves back on the task Alexx had interrupted. "Here's what I wanted to show you. Van Helden's name was erased from the birth certificate with bleach, good, but now look what I found in the database."  
She stroke a key and the records from the weapon database came flowing in, presenting the picture of 47-year-old Caucasian with brown hair and smoky blue eyes.  
"He's a registered owner of a Glock 45," he said in a voice of surprise.  
"Exactly."  
Eric blinked, then fixed his gaze on Calleigh's face.  
"So, you think he shot his daughter to death?"  
"Innocent until proven guilty," she said tartly. "But I think it wouldn't do any harm if we had a nice chat with Mr. Van Helden, would it?"  
He twisted his mouth and casted quick side glances on his watch.  
_5:45 p.m._  
"Yeah," he said drawling the word like chewing gum, "That's true. But... maybe we can meet at Van Helden's address tomorrow morning?"  
"Sure!" Calleigh responded blinking, "You're having any plans or something?"  
"Well, yes," Eric admitted. "Speed and I wanted to... have a drink and..."  
"You and Speed are going out and nobody told me?" Calleigh interrupted him in a harsh voice, "How dare you! Did the thought never come to you that I'd like to join your little welcoming party?"  
Eric raised both hands and opened his mouth in order to defend himself, when Calleigh broke out in a laughter. "You shall see your own face!" she squealed in amusement. He smiled sardonically: "I should have known this was a joke! Am I ever gonna get it?"  
"I should hope not, or else we all wouldn't have much to laugh about," Calleigh said and tried hard not to break into another round of loud laughter. She wrote the address on a piece of paper and stuffed to into his hand. "And now off you go. I'll call Horatio and tell him what we found! Have fun tonight."  
Eric smiled and patted her shoulder thankfully.  
"Alright. See ya tomorrow."

  
\---

Due to a long night out with his best friend Delko, exhaustion was written all over Speed's face when he crept into the lab the next morning. Ryan was working all over the Sanders-letters again and illuminated every single one of them with the UV-flashlight. He didn't notice his colleague entered the room until Speed dropped his paper cup of coffee on the table and wearily sank down to a chair.  
"Boy, my second day and I feel like I've worked nonstop for a couple of months already!" he muttered.  
Ryan looked at him, eyebrow raised and shook his head. A mocking smile began to spread over his face.  
"Well, you just had to get out last night, after your first day of work, it's just natural. You body has to adjust to the feeling of work again, after all. And you know what they say…"  
With that he turned his attention back towards the letters until he remembered something.  
"A-ha, by the way what was it you found out yesterday?"  
Blinking slightly and not knowing whether to smile or to frown, Speed decided to dismiss his approval of ultimate wisdom and knowledge, and dedicated himself back to the task. "Yes, I found something. Not much of it, but at least something to work with," he said, his voice dripping with something that sounded like boredom. "The water contained chrism, a balm added to holy water in Roman Catholic churches around Easter."  
Ryan looked at him oddly. "Holy water? How got holy water on the letters? That really is strange." He sighed and shook his head. "Well maybe we are lucky and find someone with a strong catholic sense who would threat him... But at least it brings some sense into those letters. All this talk about sin and hell and that he will be punished and so on... Is there any chance that we could find out in which area the church could be?"  
Speed shrugged.  
"Dunno. There are more than enough Roman Catholic churches in this city and we'd be having fun to check 'em all. So, my suggestion is to have a ride back to Keith's house and ask 'im, if he's in touch with someone that has a Christian affinity. Although I strongly doubt he knows such a person."  
Ryan gave him a questioning look. "How come?"  
"Intuition?" Speed asked sarcastically.  
"Yeah, whatever" Ryan took of his gloves and shrugged. "Well, then let's get going. It's not like these are suddenly going to talk to me about who wrote them and if everything we have is this holy water thing, then we should look into it now."  
There was no point in replying to Ryan's objection, so all Speed did was giving his colleague "OK." and another shrug, before he turned around and left.


	4. Part IV

Calleigh waited outside the address she found out the day before and waited for Eric. She was not really surprised that he was already five minutes late, besides it was not as if she didn't have time. For all she knew Marcus Van Helden would be home all day and if not she was here to prevent him from going anywhere. Just as she started wondering, what the boys did last night Erics Hummer parked next to her.  
"Took you long enough" she grinned as he got out and he had the grace to look sheepish. "Sorry, overslept"  
"Thought so, you know I want details about what happened last night, but right now we have a suspect to interrogate!"  
The darkhaired man was rather surprised when he opened the door and found himself eye-to-eye with two CSI. He had no idea, what he could have done, so that they came to him. So he opend the door and let them in. "How may I help you?"  
Presenting his badge to Van Helden, Eric kept a close watch on every single move he did. "Marcus Van Helden?"  
The man nodded. "This is officer Calleigh Duquesne, I'm Eric Delko. We're here on behalf of your daughter's death."  
The man bleached visibly and sat himself heavily on the couch. "My... Shannon... Shannon is dead?" he mumbled and looked up. "What happened? What happened to my daughter? She told me she wanted to get away... And now you tell me she is dead?!?"  
Calleigh looked shortly at Eric and nodded then towards Mr. Van Helden. "We are truly sorry to tell you this way, but your Daughter Shannon Wilson has been killed." She saw the look of total shock in the mans eyes and really dreaded to continue. "Our investigations showed us, that you purchased a Glock 45, would you be so kind to show us your weapon?"  
All of a sudden, the haunted expression on Van Helden's face changed slightly, slowly shifting into nervousity.  
"My... my gun?" he asked, obviously irritated by Calleighs demand. "Wait a sec, you guys think I shot my own daughter? Why should I do something to my girl?"  
"We're here to figure that out", Eric responded. "So, would you please show us your weapon?"  
Van Helden knit his trembling fingers and a the shimmer of cold sweat spread across his forehead.  
"Uhm... well..."  
The man got up from the couch slowly and wandered around in the living room, before he turned around and fixed his gaze on the two CSIs. "Actually... I can't show it to you, because... it's not here..."  
Raising an eyebrow, Eric and Calleigh exchanged a quick glance. "Terrific."  
"You'll have to come with us, Mr. Van Helden. We have a few more questions to ask"  
A defeated look crossed his face, as the older man nodded and followed them outside to be taken to the Crimelab.

  
Once been brought into the interrogation room he let his head hung low.  
Calleigh watched him from the outside while she and Eric told Horatio, what they had found out. Now they had to found out where the gun was and until then Mr. Van Helden would have no choice but to stay in custody.  
Sitting opposite of Van Helden in the interrogation room, Eric showed the man several pictures Alexx had taken during the autopsy, what made the man shiver. "Mr. Van Helden, we need your help in order to solve this case", Eric pointed out for the fourth or fifth time that day. "Keeping quiet only makes it worse, for you and the memory of your daughter, so, _where_ is your weapon?"

  
\---

  
Meeting with Wolfe in front of Sanders' house, Speed popped another Aspirin and drank some water to cure his slight headache, before he got out of the car and joined the younger man.  
Ryan rang the bell and instantly a young woman opened the door. "Thank god you are here, you guys are from the police, right? You really took your time. Keith is in the living room. Maybe you can get ANY useful information out of him, he's not talking to me. Just sitting there staring at this stupid picture! He won't even let me see what's on it!"  
With that she left the door open for them to enter and returned inside the house.  
Speed and Ryan exchanged quickly looks and frowned at the same time. "After you", Speed said gesturing Ryan into the house first. Keith Sanders was indeed sitting on the couch in the living room, grabbing a pillow of his couch tightly. Beside him sat the blonde, tall and pretty young woman, which had opened the door and tried to make him talk in vain. "Keith, Darling, what's wrong? Come on, how can we trust each other and our love when you're not willing to talk to me?!" she said in a desperate, but somehow unnerving high-pitched voice. "Obviously his girlfriend", Speed muttered under his breath so only Ryan could hear his words. He was not pleased with the woman's presence at all.

  
Keith looked up and glared at her before he jumped up, body shaking.  
"Our love? OUR LOVE??? How many time do I have to tell you, that I don't love you?!? We broke up month ago and it's just my good will that you are still allowed in this house AT ALL!! I hate you! You don't know anything! I was happy. I wanted to get away! I loved her! And now she's DEAD! So why can't you fuck off and leave me the hell alone!!"  
The woman shivered at this sudden outburst and stilled in shock, but she recovered quickly, while Keith kept staring at her in wild rage.  
"You.. you loved her?" she asked, her voice dripping with arrogance. She got up from the couch and glared daggers at Keith. Speed and Ryan knew instantly that she was about to lose her temper as well.  
"That dirty little cootie doesn't even know how to love you right! We were meant for each other!" she yelled outraged. "She simply came into our lives and thought, she could take you away from me, uh? I told you once, I told you twice that I will never ever let it come to this, Keith!"  
She took a few steps towards Ryan and Speed, not caring about the CSIs' presence, then turned around and gave her ex-lover one final look. "But, well, now you'll gonna see what you have of it: You and your hand, all alone, all day long! I'll give you three days 'til you knock on my door again!"  
"You have NO RIGHT to talk about her like that, you stupid bitch. And keep dreaming, you will never ever hear from me again, you can be sure of that. And now just GO AWAY!!"  
The woman's mouth opened and closed several times as if she wanted to reply something, but then decided that it would be a lot healthier to stay silent.  
So, she spun around on her heels, a furious grimace on her face, and left, her quick footsteps echoing in the hall.

  
Speed through a side glance at Ryan and took a deep breath.  
"Uhm... Mr. Sanders?"  
Keith, who had broke drown crying again, just wordlessly handed them the newest letter and the picture.  
Ryan looked over Speeds shoulder, when he read the letter and took a closer look at the photograph.  
"Who is this?" he asked confused. Many questions where forming in his minds while he also thought about the things they had to do. After all they were now dealing with a murder.  
"Shannon Wilson. My girlfriend."  
Speed looked at the picture himself and the same question began to flood into his mind.  
"Okay. Things have gotten a lot worse, I think", he said slowly, scratching his chin.  
"What you think?" he then asked Ryan.  
"You could say that" the younger CSI sighed. "What do you think, should we call H or something like that? Or are we going to her address right away?"  
"No. I think this case got.. out of hand. Maybe we'll need some help", Speed said, slightly turning away from Keith to prevent him from overhearing their conversation. He made out his cell phone from the inside of his trouser pocket. "Besides... that name... Shannon Wilson... somehow rings a familiar bell."  
He dialled a number and waited.  
"Eric? This is Speed. We need your help!"

  
\---

  
Calleigh and Eric drove to the St Mary's Church after Mr. Van Helden had finally told them that he had given his gun to the Father, not trusting himself any longer. It obviously had something to do with Shannon's mother. As soon as they arrived they started looking for Father Carlos. Once they found him and explained the circumstances to him he made a pray and looked at them with remorse in his eyes.  
"Shannon was such a nice girl. She shouldn't have died this way, but god will look after her. But concerning the gun... Well you see, after I took it from Marcus I had to hold a mass and after that it was, well, gone"  
"Gone?" Eric asked in perfect disbelief. "How can it be gone so easily?"  
Carlos knit his fingers.  
"Well, I stored it in the vestry, you know, in the bottom of the deck, but no-one besides myself and the altar servers have entry to the vestry. And they were all with me, when I said the mass last Sunday. They could not have done it."  
"Did you notice any signs of a forced entry to the vestry then?" Eric asked. Why was finding a single gun that difficult sometimes?  
Carlos shook his head. "No, but this church is very old and I don't know every scratch on this holy walls. I can't tell, if one scratch is a sign of age and another the result of a criminal act!"  
Calleigh and Eric looked at each other, both barely containing a sigh at what they had just heard.  
„Could you show us, where you stored the weapon please? Maybe the intruder left some trace behind…" Calleigh asked the priest, a smile on her face, and she really hoped that this would be the case. Otherwise they would have not even the slightest clue where else to look.  
„Of course, if you may follow"  
Pater Carlos guided them towards the place and the two CSI began searching for any clue, but remained unlucky.  
„Damn…" muttered Eric, clearly unhappy over this outcome and was about to pack his things an leave, when his cellphone started ringing.  
„Delko? … Hm? … Yes, I know that name. That is the name of the woman we found… Yes, why? … What? … We'll be there"

  
Calleigh looked at him with interest and Eric told her quickly was the call had been about before he turned back to Pater Carlos. „Excuse me, pater, do you by any means know someone with the name Keith Sanders?"  
"Keith Sanders?" the priest repeated as if he was trying to taste the name on his tongue. He frowned in concentration  
„The name is familiar," Carlos admitted slowly. "But I can't recall a face that goes along with the name. Though, I remember Marcus talking about a Keith Sanders. He's an automechanican, isn't he? Marcus said he was a local boy, from our community, but I never saw him at the masses. But does he have to do with poor Shannon?"  
Eric sighed deeply.  
"He's her boyfriend," Calleigh explained calmly. „We think, he's the one, Shannon wanted to get away with, but obviously, someone knew how prevent it. And now Mr. Sanders' life's put in danger as well. And if we're not able to find the person who stole Mr. Van Helden's gun from your vestry, all to soon, Mr. Sanders is going to end up dead, I'm afraid."  
Carlos quivered.  
"I...I don't know who could have taken it!" he repeated. "Not to shoot Shannon. Everyone knows that Marianne and Marcus loathe each other, but nevertheless, they loved their daughter,"  
"We'll prove that", Eric said, slightly turning away from Carlos and grabbing Calleighs upper arm. "Best is to meet with Speed and Ryan at the lab. Maybe the boyfriend can give us more detail!"

  
\---

  
Back at the lab, Ryan and Speed did various scans and copies of the picture Keith had received along with the latest letter, so the original could be checked for fingerprints and other traces of DNA. "That's sick!" Ryan muttered while he studied the blood covered figure that used to be Shannon Wilson for the tenth time. Speed casted a glance and his colleague and closed down his cell phone. Still no sign or trace of Horatio and whether Alexx nor the receptionist or anyone else in the building knew where he was. It was not his way, being absent with no note left where he might be found in a case of emergency – and the Wilson/Sanders-case was what Speed thought of as an emergency. They needed to move quickly.  
"As I said: Christian affinity," he said.

  
With that the door behind them flung open and Calleigh and Eric came into the layout room.  
And both stopped dead at the sight of Shannon's picture.  
"Oh my god!" Calleigh said and stepped beside Ryan to have a closer look. "That's sick!"  
"Exactly what I said." Ryan replied and Speed couldn't stop himself from shaking his head. "The picture was send to her boyfriend this morning, together with this letter."  
Ryan handed Calleigh the letter and she and Eric took a closer look at it.  
"So her murderer is most likely the person who is threatening Keith Sanders, but do we have any clue at who it might been? I mean any fingerprints or whatever?"  
Speed was about to reply to her request, when Horatio entered the room, sunglasses in his hands and looked at his team expectantly.  
"What happened? I heard you have knew informations?" he obviously ignored the questioning stares at his sudden entry and to Eric's question at where he had been all this time, he simply told them. "I had some things to take care of"

  
The team, sensing that they wouldn't get any further information, turned back to the new evidence.  
"it turned out that Keith Sanders is obviously threatened by Shannon's murderer. He was her boyfriend, by the way." Ryan started the explanations. "And the gun was registered on her fathers name, but he handed it to a priest. The problem is, someone stole it from him and we have no idea who." Eric continued with a sigh. "But we still have a clue. Whoever killed Shannon and wrote this letter to Keith has a strong Christian affection, for we found holy water on the letters."  
"Holy water?" Horatio asked and his gaze seem to fix on something no-one else could see. His lips moved silently as if he was recalling the whole story of Shannon Wilson in his head. Then, suddenly, a twinkle appeared in his bright blue eyes and he looked Speed straight in his face. "A Christian affection, you say?"  
"Yes", he repeated and nodded toward the photograph. "Her murder seems to be some sort of crucifixion."  
"This means, someone punished her for the crime – or sin – of being pregnant without getting married first", Eric interjected.  
"Maybe the murderer thought of this as a redemption?" Speed asked his colleague in return. "An act of charity performed in the name of the Lord?"  
"This is no act of charity, this is murder", Ryan said in a serious tone.  
"Thanks", Speed said dryly. "I would not have known that without your enlightenment."  
Ryan opened his mouth in order to reply something, but Horatio cut him off.  
He fumbled with his sunglasses and gave everyone an intuitive look. "Ladies and Gentlemen, looks like we already met someone who to fits that description."

  
\---

  
When Horatio, Ryan and Speed got to the apartment of Marianne Wilson, no one opened and it became clear, that she was not at home. One of her neighbours confirmed that she drove away about half an hour ago. Not knowing where to search for her, they decided to go to St. Mary Church, when Ryan's cellphone started ringing.  
"Wolfe?" he answered and was greeted with the panicked voice of one Keith Sanders. "You have to help me! She's crazy! She..." he was rudely interrupted by a female voice, that screamed at him, that he had to pay for his sins and the low 'thud' that was heard on the other side of the line gave the conclusion, that the phone fell on the floor.  
"Mr Sanders? Mr. Sanders?" Ryan called. The other two looked at him expectantly and he looked up, clearly troubled by this call. "It looks like we found her. She's at Keith place..."  
They didn't waste any time to go to their cars and drive towards the address and Ryan still listened to the phone where he could here distant screaming and the moment they drove into the drive there was a gunshot.  
„This is not good!" Ryan said to himself and hurried to get out of his car. All three of them ran toward the door, weapons drawn from their holster. Horatio took the lead and slammed the door of Sanders' house open, his gun aiming in various direction. "Miami-Dade Police!" Horatio shouted in a harsh voice.

  
A painful squealing followed by the crack of glass on wood came as an answer.  
Ryan felt his heart beating just as painfully against his chest as he and Speed ducked through the doorway in unison and flanked Horatio. Though his colleague didn't seem to make a competition out of this, Ryan felt like this was the very moment he had to prove himself and his abilities as a criminalist next to Speedle.  
"Mr. Sanders?" Horatio shouted.  
They moved toward the living room slowly.  
Keith, still trying to get away from that woman he identified as Shannon's mother, hold his left arm, where the bullet had hit him. He stumbled towards the door as soon as he heard the CSI approaching, but Marianne grabbed him at the collar of his shirt and pulled him back harshly. "Don't even think, that they will be able to save you. You have to pay for your sins. You deserve your punishment!" she screeched waving the gun around and pulling him closer to herself. He struggled against her grip, but the weapon pointed as his head sent shivers down his spine and he feared, that a sudden move could make her snap completely.  
He felt a small flicker of hope, when he saw the three persons in his doorway. Letting his eyes roam over them he stopped to look pleadingly at Ryan Wolfe, hoping that he and his colleagues would be able to help him.  
Speed threw a quick look at Ryan who watched Keith's every move with great care as he launched forward, his gun ready in his hand.  
"Miss Wilson!" Horatio shouted aiming at the enraged figure of Marianne Wilson. She fumbled with a Glock 45, the calibre Calleigh and Eric had identified from the bullet in Shannon's body. Now they knew who had broken into Father Carlos's vestry.  
"Lieutenant Caine", she said in a voice of deathly calm. "Are you a religious man?"  
Speed frowned at her words and his grip tightened around the handle of his gun.  
"Miss Wilson, give me the weapon, please!" Horatio said more cautiously this time.  
But she didn't move an inch, the gun still pressed against Keith's temple. His erratic breath fill the room with a thick atmosphere that spread and covered all of them.  
"Do you believe in God, Lieutenant? Or your men? Because if you do, you would not try to stop me, for it is the will of the Lord and I am just fulfilling my mission!"  
Speed felt a shiver run down his spine. This woman was creepy.  
"Then remember what is said in the Ten Commandments", Horatio said. "You shall not kill. So, please, give me the weapon!"  
Suddenly her face became a grotesque grimace and she tossed Keith to one side, so the man slipped and fell onto the flow, a sickening crack ringing through the air.  
And then, her gun was aiming at Horatio.  
 _No!_ Speed thought. There was no time left, no chance to think twice.  
A trigger went off - for a second none of them knew where the shot had come from – and was followed by a 'thud' as Marianne Wilson sank down onto the floor beside Keith. Her blood began to flood all over the wooden floor while the woman was caught in a death challenge.  
Speed himself didn't know what had happened, until Horatio and Ryan spun around and took a look at him.  
"As I see", Horatio said and appreciation creeping itself into his voice, "You've become a lot faster."

  
\---

  
_Another case closed._ Horatio thought and stuffed the Wilson folder back into the filing cabinet. After the crime scene had been properly processed he had gone back to the lab with Speed and Ryan. Wolfe had looked a little puzzled and confused about the latest events, while Speed was rather enjoying himself. It was obvious to everyone that Tim Speedle was glad that it had been him to have closed this case, once and for all.  
But Horatio was not able to feel happy at all. Now that the atmosphere in the lab was less tense and his co-workers readied to knock off work, his thoughts returned to Suzie and Madison.  
He sat down in front of his desk and grabbed the forms Suzie had given him the previous day and he couldn't help but wonder, if he was prepared for this task. Of course, he like Madison, loved her even, and he knew the girl would always hold a special place in his heart. But was that enough to raise a child?  
He didn't have the answer.

  
Sinking deeply into his thoughts he was startled to hear a knock on the door. Really thinking about not answering he mentally shook his head before finally letting a tired "Come in" past his lips. And really he shouldn't have been surprised to see Alexx walk into the room giving him a concerned look. Sometimes that woman was far to sensible for her own good.  
"Is everything alright, H?" she asked with caution and studied him carefully, while sitting down in one of the chairs in front of his desk.  
Horatio knew that there was no way he would be able to lie to her about this, because she obviously knew something was amiss.  
"Well… no."  
"No?" she asked, her voice still full of concern. It looked like she didn't want to press the matter, but as Horatio remained silent, she leaned forward.  
"C'mon, tell me what's bothering you. Could this have anything to do with you being late for our meeting?"  
Sighing deeply, he thought about the best way to tell her what had been bothering him ever since his meeting with Suzie the previous day. Even after he'd met them for lunch that day to make sure everything was alright he had not been able to shake the feeling of insecurity off.  
"Well?" Alexx said.  
"You're sure you really want to know about it?"  
"Of course, H", she said tartly. "Otherwise I wouldn't have asked for it, would I?"  
Horatio took another deep breath and leaned back in his chair, his hands folder behind his head.  
"I met with Suzie yesterday. You remember Suzie Barnham?"  
She nodded slightly and gestured him to continue.  
"Well, she's in trouble and she asked me for help. She wants me to take care of her daughter…"  
"And what's wrong with it? I thought, you like… what was her name?... Madison?"  
"This is not about having her moved to my place for the weekend."  
"Then, what _is_ it about?"  
"She wants me to have custody for her daughter after she… well… after she is dead."  
"Okay… what kind of trouble is this you're talking about here, H?"  
The confusion was clearly written all over Alexx' face and Horatio managed to give her a slight if sad smile.  
"She has been diagnosed with cancer, final state. They won't be able to treat it and she doesn't know how much time she has left."  
"Well…" Alexx looked at a loss of words for a moment before she continued. "So let me get this straight. She is terminally ill and wants you to have custody for her daughter, so that she can be sure Madison is taken care off once she will no longer be able to do so herself, yes?" At the nod Horatio provided her with she raised an eyebrow, clearly not seeing the problem. "So what?"  
Horatio shot a glance at her. How could she possibly think that this was not a huge problem? Being a mother, taking care of her own children, was most natural to her. She would never think twice about what to do in order to keep her children safe.  
"So, you would ask me to take care of your kids any time? Do you honestly think, I could manage it?"  
She blinked, puzzled by his doubt.  
"Fortunately, I have a husband who will care for them. But, yes, I would."  
Horatio raised an eyebrow, then smiled sardonically.  
"I think, you should listen to your heart instead of your thoughts. It's only natural to worry about a child. Every parent does. I won't deny that the two of you – Madison and you, I mean – will be facing a rough time. But I know you and I know that you will make it through this somehow. Besides, I always thought that you deserved a family of your own. I believe you're going to be a good father."  
She got out of her chair again, intending to leave him alone with his thoughts now.  
"Think about it. You'll do the right thing."

  
\---

  
Sitting in the break room with the other CSIs Ryan only listened halfheartedly to their conversation in which Speed just had to tell Calleigh and Eric in every detail what had happened at Sanders' house. He himself still couldn't get over the fact that he had been unable to do anything to help anyone. Adding that to the pressure he was feeling the whole day concerning Stetler and Horatio it was just too much. He could not abandon the impression that H was keeping something from him. Something important. Sighing in a mixture of annoyance and frustration he finally got up, fed up with seeing Speed's chest swell with pride, and wanted to get himself a drink when his phone rang.  
Knowing what was about to happen, he exhaled slowly and answered the call, feeling totally defeated.  
"Wolfe?"  
"Oh, Mr Wolfe!" snarled the sickly sweet voice of Rick Stetler. "Nice you answered the call so quickly. As you know, I'd like to have a word with you in my office. And as I hear that Mr Speedle saved the day, I think, he won't have a problem to do the paperwork. I guess, you have a minute or two for me, don't you?"  
 _Well… it's not like I have any choice…_ Ryan thought, but dared not to say the words aloud.  
"Yeah… that's probably true."  
"So, if you don't mind… you know where my office is. I'll be meeting you there in a few minutes."  
Ryan didn't get the chance to reply anything else. Stetler had already hung up. Obviously, the IAB agent couldn't wait to give him the news.

  
\---

  
Stetler's office had been empty, when he arrived, so he took a seat and waited for the IAB agent to join him silently. Every minute seemed to extend into lifetime and Ryan began to wonder, if Stetler even enjoyed to keep him on tenterhooks. But when the other man finally entered his office, he realized that he had not been as prepared for this as he had thought.  
"So," Stetler said slowly and sat down in his massive chair behind his desk. "I won't be bothering you with pathetic excuses and poor explanations why it had come to this, Mr Wolfe."  
The IAB agent reached for a drawer and pulled out Ryan's personnel file.  
"To make this short, even though your ambition in this case was remarkable it had simply not been enough. We've come to the conclusion that there is no further need for you to stay in your position as a CSI, especially since Timothy Speedle came back to the team."  
Opening the folder and quickly scanning through the pages, Stetler fixed his attention on Ryan once more.  
"I took it upon myself to make sure you will receive your remaining leave days. I'm truly sorry, but even Ltd. Caine didn't seem to need you any further and so this is the only way. I wish you the best for your future career, though."  
Ryan just wanted Stetler to shut up and let him go. Babbling about how terribly sorry he was would not do much to get him his job back. Even though he had gone through this scenario for a thousand times by now, he haven't had any clue about how miserable he'd feel. Holding his breath for a moment, he got up and thanked Stetler for having him informed so quickly.  
"Oh, you're welcome." Stetler said blinking, obviously puzzled by Ryan's politeness.  
When he left, Ryan struggled with himself to remain calm and collected, even though he liked the idea of beating something up. He had fought hard to become a CSI and now all his efforts had been in vain. Stetler and Horatio had taken it from him. They had destroyed his dream so easily that it seemed unreal he was no longer on the team. What a fool he had been to believe that Horatio would have wanted him to stay. He imagined the lieutenant sitting in Stetler's office, simply shrugging and saying: "Wolfe? Well, he was a scrub after all. Besides, Speed does have much more professional experience."  
The thought haunted him, but he didn't find a curse that would fit to both Horatio and Stetler. To hell with them! His whole life was lying there, broken into pieces, and he knew there wasn't a single person that cared about it.

  
\---

  
"Did you guys see Wolfe leave?" Speed asked and looked around in the break room. He, Eric and Calleigh had been making jokes like in the old days and they had somehow gotten carried away by it. But after a while, he felt that something was out of place. Something was just not right. It was then that he'd realized that Wolfe had gone.  
"Don't know," Eric said indifferently. "He murmured something about getting something to drink before he left."  
"But didn't come back, did he?" Speed said.  
Calleigh shrugged.  
"Obviously not."  
"He hadn't been too fond of making silly jokes anyway." Eric said. "I remember him saying that it was macabre."  
"Well, maybe we should go looking for him?" Speed suggested.  
"He's an adult. He can take care of himself." Eric retorted. "Besides, why would you care?"  
"Don't know. The thought just came to my mind."  
"Well, it's late anyway. Maybe we should all just get our things and go home. Tomorrow is another day of work after all" Calleigh finally threw in and looked at them expectantly.  
"I guess you're right."  
Nodding in agreement they all got up and went towards the locker room. Walking inside talking animatedly to each other again they didn't overlook Ryan, who slammed his locker shut. Looking at him in confusion they watched him as he strode over to the exit clearly in a bad mood.  
"Hey, boy! What's gotten into you?" Eric called after him, but never received an answer as the younger CSI was already out of range.  
"Okay…" Speed muttered to himself slowly as he started to change. "That was strange"  
Calleigh and Eric could do nothing, but agree.

  
_End of Episode two: Holy Mary_  
 _Coming soon: Episode three: Runaway Baby_


End file.
